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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Building On Mainecare’S Success, Lisa Pohlmann, Christine Hastedt Jan 2007

Building On Mainecare’S Success, Lisa Pohlmann, Christine Hastedt

Maine Policy Review

This commentary provides a particular viewpoint on MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program). Lisa Pohlmann and Christine Hastedt critique reform efforts in several states and emphasize the key role of MaineCare in the state’s overall health care system.


Mainecare—A Provider Prospective, Erik N. Steele Jan 2007

Mainecare—A Provider Prospective, Erik N. Steele

Maine Policy Review

Dr. Erik Steele in this commentary discusses MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) from a provider’s perspective. He suggests that delays and problems in the state’s reimbursement to providers have led to doubts about the state’s credibility both as a payer and as a health care systems change leader.


Taking A New Look At Mainecare, Paul Saucier Jan 2007

Taking A New Look At Mainecare, Paul Saucier

Maine Policy Review

Maine’s Medicaid program, called MaineCare, provides health care coverage to one in five state residents. Paul Saucier gives an overview of MaineCare’s services, eligibility categories, and financing. He discusses root causes of MaineCare’s continued expansion in breadth and cost, which has prompted reform proposals to rein in what many believe is unsustainable growth. Examining reform efforts in other states, Saucier cautions that we need to learn from these experiments. Finally, he raises important questions for policymakers related to MaineCare’s mission, its complexity, and the stability of its financing.


You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger Jan 2007

You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger

Maine Policy Review

The recent repeal of Maine’s local education assessment requirement was met with mixed reactions ranging from relief to outrage. That there were such differing responses points to the fact that “assessment” in education is understood in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways. In this article, Rebecca Berger looks retrospectively at how the problems associated with implementing Maine’s local assessment system (LAS) were caused by a lack of understanding of important aspects of assessment as it relates to standards-based reform in education. Using examples from her case study of one Maine school district, Berger notes three areas of ongoing concern: lack of …


State Earned Income Tax Credits And “Making Work Pay”: How Maine Might Help Workers, Glenn Beamer Jan 2007

State Earned Income Tax Credits And “Making Work Pay”: How Maine Might Help Workers, Glenn Beamer

Maine Policy Review

Established in 1975, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) became the federal government’s largest antipoverty program for citizens under the age of 65 by the mid-1990s. In this article, Glenn Beamer gives a brief overview of how the program works and how states have piggybacked on the federal EITC to further assist their working poor. He observes that Maine’s EITC policy does not fully avail itself of potential returns and points to other states with policies that provide greater benefits for the working poor. He suggests that expanding Maine’s EITC not only would provide working Mainers with extra income, but …


Alternative Large-Scale Conservation Visions For Northern Maine: Interviews With Decision Leaders In Maine, Elizabeth Dennis Baldwin, Laura S. Kenefic, Will F. Lapage Jan 2007

Alternative Large-Scale Conservation Visions For Northern Maine: Interviews With Decision Leaders In Maine, Elizabeth Dennis Baldwin, Laura S. Kenefic, Will F. Lapage

Maine Policy Review

Based on confidential interviews with 21 decision leaders in Maine, Elizabeth Baldwin, Laura Kenefic, and Will LaPage examine the complexity of the conflicts over alternate visions for large-scale conservation in Maine. Exploring models that may be useful for policymakers grappling with competing values for Maine’s forests, they present four alternatives: national forests, new U.S. forest service models, forest heritage areas, and the British national park model. The authors found that the leaders interviewed agreed about the need for some level of conservation, but did not completely agree on how this might happen and where the decision-making power should lie.